Have you ever thought why reading Comics like Panchatantra, Tenali Rama, Champak was so interesting? And on the other hand, our school books were so boring?

So, here I would like to tell you all that this is the power of Content Marketing. Content Marketing is all about presenting our words in such a beautiful way that nobody resists it.

Content Marketing is nothing but Storytelling. Can you remember the nights when you couldn’t resist reading one more part of Vikram & Betal? Buttering our parents to buy another part of the book was our real-time job.

This is how Content Marketing would lure you to buy the products every single time.

The content marketer role is very important in digital marketing. While we are planning marketing to sell a product like making a brochure, catalog, flyer newsletter, flyer and POS material that attracts more prospects.

It is a strategy of marketing to attract your customers to show your product case and service to the customer through text, image, videos, audios, etc. Other ways you can say to drive traffic to our web page

To show off your product to the prospect to understands it and know your product and turn into profit from the medium of a website, social media or landing pages.

It is said, “Content is the king”. Everyone wants to get free something for example –Buy 2 Get 1 Free and Delivery at your doorstep free of cost.

If you’re still in a confusion that what exactly the difference between Content Marketing and Content Writing then just keep reading this article…

What is Content Marketing?

The Content Marketing Institute defines content marketing as:

A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.

According to me, Content Marketing is a Long-Term Strategy which gains valuable audience for the company on an organic base. Content Marketing helps you to create a strong relationship with the customer.

Content Marketing provides High-Quality Content and on a Consistent Basis. That helps them to connect with your company more and develop trust for the products.

The Content Marketing Institute has captured and very easily and beautifully gave the message through this film-

It’s the effective use of content that helps to educate, informs your customer to purchase from your company.

The Best part of the Strategy is that if it is done with persistence. It also makes our mind for the long term this strategy would keep giving.

History of Content Marketing

Content Marketing existence in this market is for a very long time. If I say you to think about Content Marketing you would simply think of Blogging first, but Content Marketing has been in the market for a very long period.

Therefore, you can now get an idea that how old Content Marketing is? If you still want to know more about the background of it you can view the video by The Content Marketing Institute.

They have presented its evolution in a very simple to understand the way-

Difference between Content Marketing and Content Writing

This is a really good question because it hits at perhaps the biggest mistake businesses make in content marketing: writing too much, and not marketing enough.

By here you know what is content marketing, it’s all about Storytelling, Narrating, Writing in such a way that customers couldn’t resist to read it.

“Content writing” is just that: putting words on the page.

“Content marketing” is the process of:

1. Customer/market research to ensure that your content is irresistible to a target audience of people who you’d like to become your customers.
2. SEO research to ensure that your content is also irresistible to search engines.
3. Creating content that incorporates the above, AND aligns with your business goals (for example, if you want people to buy from you, then your content has to make them want to buy from you!).
4. Promoting your content (through email, social, influencer outreach, advertising, etc…) to drive traffic to your site.
5. Creating a compelling offer to get your readers to give you their email address in exchange for future content.
6. Building an email funnel that nurtures your subscribers into becoming paying customers of your business.

As you can see, the two are very different.

Content writing is a part of content marketing, but content marketing can’t happen successfully without these other parts…and that’s something that far too many businesses get wrong.

Types of Content Marketing

There are numerous types of Content Marketing. Here we have listed a few of them done below:-

Blogs

Nowadays we read different Blogs every day. We usually do it on purpose but just because we are interested to read more from that particular Blogger.

Do tell us about your favorite Blogger. We would definitely love to read from them also. Our favorite Blogger is Neil Patel, you can also visit his site to read more interesting Blog. https://neilpatel.com/what-is-content-marketing/

Blogs are one of the best ways to improve SEO and drive more organic traffic to your site from the search engines. Small Business with Blogs generates 126% more leads.

Video

Consumers today are viewing more video content than ever before. In fact, one-third of all online activity is spent watching video content. 1/3 of people watch the video every day and the most common site to view content is YouTube

Infographics

These days Infographics are very essential nowadays. It is important because it educates the customers. Especially Infographics make the customer know your company and gives the chance to trust you.

 Case Studies

Case Studies help your clients to know your company better. It helps them to understand how the company will deal with their case. The Case Study is a very bold step for a company to take as it allows full transparency to the client.  

 eBooks

If you ever traveled in Metro then you might have noticed people doing things really often these days such as:-

1) Listening to Music

2) Reading Book

Therefore, it is very common nowadays that people while traveling love to read books and eBooks are the most convenient gift anyone could ever gift to book lovers that they can read any book, anywhere, anytime.

Social Media Posts

Social Media Marketing is the best way to reach the young generation of the group. As most of this age group are actively present on these Social Media Sites.

The main benefit of using social media for content marketing is that you don’t need to spend any single penny and you have a large mass of audience.

Podcast

As I have mentioned already in the 5^th Point. Now you already know that the first thing people love to do in free time listening to whatever they like.

Therefore, Podcasting is the best option for people you just want to listen to your content. Content Marketing on Podcasting is very essential for your company to cover another large mass of audience.

What is the Importance of Content Marketing in your Business?

The primary reason for content marketing is that it focuses on telling stories and building narrative, rather than just bombarding with your sales strategies.

People are more likely to engage with a brand that delivers quality, educational content than one that only focuses on doing business with them.

The emotions and personal beliefs that come with the story are the main factors that motivate people to take action. Consumers usually choose the brands whose narratives reflect their views and embody their ideal principles of life.

That’s not just a theory; there are numbers to prove it…

• Content marketing costs 62% less than traditional advertising.
• It also generates three times more leads.
• Businesses that use content marketing have six times higher conversion rates than non-adopters, according to Aberdeen.
• A Custom Content Council study found that 72% of businesses think content marketing is more effective than advertising in a magazine.
• 62% claim it generates better results than advertising on TV.
• 69% of marketers say branded content is superior to both direct mail and public relations.
• These examples are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to studies that prove the effectiveness of content marketing. Here you can find more statistics that support its worth.

Still not convinced? Let’s take a look at the benefits.

Benefits of Content Marketing for your Brand

Here are some of the benefits I have experienced personally on this journey:

1. Content builds a digital asset hub that attracts leads and sales.
2. It grows credibility and trust as you publish content that answers customer questions.
3. Quality content can establish you and your brand as a thought leader in your industry that spreads influence and authority.
4. It educates your prospects and clients, building loyalty that turns them into fans and advocates.

The core of content marketing really comes down to one simple idea: thought leadership vs. selling.

Selling is an immediate call to action, a proposition that needs to end with a clear decision. The customer will buy or will not buy the product or service. More than that, the effectiveness of a sales-centric strategy will end the moment you stop pouring money into it. Your pay-per-click marketing or Facebook ads will stop generating leads the moment your campaign ends.

Content marketing, on the other hand, is the gift that keeps on giving. A high-quality article can generate return one week, one month or even one year after you’ve created it. That’s because quality content enables you to create a bond with your audience that goes beyond the simplistic purpose of buying and selling.

Simple Ways to Start Content Marketing

A common mistake people make when it comes to content marketing is that they jump right in without building a foundation first. Here’s what you need to do to ensure your strategy is going to be effective.

Hire the right team

Content marketing can feel a bit overwhelming, especially if it’s a new concept and you have no idea where to start. Getting help from others to outline and execute on your plan is not only smart but also encouraging.

But, make sure to choose your team carefully. Talk about your brand’s identity, your value set, your ideal customer profile, and what you are looking to achieve as a business. Help them relate to a vision for your brand that inspires them to want to work with you.

When I say “team”, I don’t necessarily mean you need to go out there and hire 10 full-time staff members. If you are a small business or entrepreneur, consider other options you have available to you to build the skill set you are going to need to be successful – outsourcing to freelancers and contractors, for example.

Here are some of the “roles” that you, your team, or your outsourced partner will need to play to execute your marketing strategy:

1. Content marketing manager or project coordinator
2. Content creator or copywriter
3. Graphic designer
4. Content curator
5. Researcher
6. Community manager
7. Brand monitor
8. Influencer and partnerships manager

Think about your brand’s voice

How do you want prospects to perceive you? Do you want to be seen as a friendly brand or a professional business?

Develop a brand voice and stick to it across all channels. Create guidelines for you and your team to follow in terms of brand colors, use of fonts, language do’s and don’ts, and other things that influence your perception of the market.

Document content marketing goals

Look to document content marketing goals and tie them back to your primary business objectives. Here are some common examples of areas you may like to set content marketing goals for as a starting point:

1. Brand awareness
2. Authority and influence
3. Social proof and case studies
4. Market research and product ideation
5. Customer research
6. Website traffic
7. Lead generation
8. Customer acquisition
9. Brand loyalty and customer retention
10. Customer referrals
11. Client service
12. Customer onboarding

Research by Statista found that Lead Generation, Brand Awareness, and Engagement were the top content marketing goals for companies in North America:

Create a customer profile

A customer profile, or buyer persona, is a fictional representation of your ideal customer.

An effective customer profile goes beyond demographic information and documents things like interests, hobbies, fears, hopes, and dreams – helping you truly understand how your customers tick.

A well-constructed customer profile will help you do everything a little bit better. Your content will resonate more with your audience, which will result in more engagement, more traffic, and inevitably more purchases. Without a good understanding of your ideal customer, your content marketing strategy is likely to fall flat.

To create a buyer persona, here is a brief process to follow:

1. Find a buyer persona template that suits your business and industry.
2. Start researching your customers to fill in this template, on social media, search engines, and via customer surveys.
3. Consolidate your research into at least one simple buyer persona, or several if you need to.
4. Use your buyer persona to guide your content marketing activity.

HubSpot has a cool online tool called “Make My Persona” where you can fill in a few key details and automatically generate a customer profile for your business:

How to create a content marketing strategy

Once you have established a strong foundation, here are the steps I recommend you take to create an effective content marketing strategy:-

Map out content that aligns with the buyer’s journey

Whether you call this a sales funnel, buyer’s journey, or something else entirely, at its core this concept simply captures the idea that individuals go through a certain rational and emotional process before they make a purchase decision.

At each stage of this process, they look for information and guidance that leads them to the next step. It’s your job, as the content marketer, to provide relevant and helpful content at each of these important stages in their journey.

To help your customer you can provide them with:-

1. Case Studies
2. Testimonials
3. Tailored Offers

All these efforts from your company will show your new customer how to get started.

Brainstorm content ideas and create a content calendar

Here are some proven ways of coming up with content ideas:-

1. Conduct keyword research to see what people are searching for in search engines.
2. Determine a list of your customers’ most common questions; before, during, and after a sales or customer service conversation.
3. Identify the problems and subproblems your product or service solves.
4. Create case studies.
5. Research competitors, industry influencers, and thought leaders to find out what their most successful content has been.

Here are Top 3 Site Links which helps you to know what is Trending?

“Trending” this term is commonly used when something is on top and most of the people are interested in that particular thing. Therefore, it’s very important to keep up with these trending topics to maintain your place in the market. This also helps you to maintain that good relationship with your customers.

We are providing Top 3 Sites that help you to keep up with the pace:-

1. Buzzsumo.com
2. Google Trends
3. BuzzFeed
4. Reddit

Content Marketing Strategies example from Top Brands

Content marketing is all about using content to attract and retain visitors and eventually turn them into customers. And most people who use it know it’s effective.

It’s just that to achieve the most effective way of it you and your team really need to work hard.

Therefore, Here we have listed 10 Top Brand Content Marketing Strategies that are working amazingly in the industry:-

Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” –

The “Share a Coke” campaign gives every Coca-Cola lover the opportunity to personalize their drink. Individuals could personalize their own bottle with their name on the Coca-Cola website or look for their name (or a friend’s name) on a bottle at the gas station or supermarket. This campaign soon went viral as consumers began posting pictures online with their personalized drinks.

Zomato –

Zomato is a restaurant finder mobile app available for 24 countries. The company uses humor liberally in its marketing strategy. In particular, it creates and shares images referencing popular culture, as this recent example spoofing an Oscar-nominated film shows.

Shutterstock –

Shutterstock’s in the business of images, and it’s used its expertise to make a resource that everyone can use: a creative trends report. This capitalizes on the fact that people love reliable data, and this type of resource gets widely shared. Last year’s infographic attracted thousands of social shares, and attracted more than 6 billion site visits, according to the Content Marketing Institute. This year, Shutterstock has made the resource interactive, including not just images, but video and music. So far, it’s been shared more than 10,000 times.

Evernote –

Evernote’s Customer Stories is a personal content marketing strategy that tells a story while giving new users a look into how the platform is used. Instead of a lengthy how-to article or various case studies, Evernote combines storytelling with instruction. It’s engaging, relatable, and drives home Evernote’s core benefit: helping teams create and share work.

IBM –

IBM knows they’re not in the most interesting or eye-catching of industries. So, they chose to make their content just that. Their blog is full of actionable tutorials, case studies, and interesting content for all, not just experts. And the world’s smallest movie? Who wouldn’t enjoy that?

General Electric –

The #GEInstaWalk campaign proves that you don’t need to be a trendy lifestyle company to leverage the power of influencer marketing – you just need to find the right influencers.

Rolex –

Content isn’t just reserved for blog posts and sales pages. Rolex shows diversity by spending time curating and creating high-quality images that inspire and communicate their brand clearly. The images are eye-catching and tell a story. When it comes to content on social media, images often say more than words ever could.

Simply Business –

One of the best examples is B2B simply business which gives you the opportunity to meet a large mass of audience. It’s yet another example showing that so-called “boring sectors” can still wow their audience. Their customer education guides have attracted thousands of links and shares, as well as raising their profile.

Content marketing, in my opinion, is the next big thing for B2B business growth. It benefits in trust-building with the audience, traffic generation and higher chances of those leads to generating qualified business.

ContentMarketing is like a first date. If all you do is talk about yourself, there won’t be a second date.

We are human beings and we all live in a very hectic schedule throughout the day. All-day we read, learn to hear Facts, and Terms from Books, Newspapers, and Magazines, etc. We need some time to relax but on the other hand, we also need knowledge.

Therefore, this is the main reason why people are usually attracted to good content marketing and give attention and their precious time to it.

Because they can’t resist the content.

Do tell us in the comment section below that what do you think about Content Marketing? We would love to know your opinion also.

We are an exporter of printing and publishing materials. Writing a blog on printing tech, tricks and strategy is my passion. We are suited at 249/2, opposite Vasant Vihar Bus Depot, Munirka New Delhi -110067, near Indira Gandhi International Airport, India. We provide our services in Pan India and all major countries in the World.

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